1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to insulated liquid carriers and dispensers usable in a vehicle, and, more particularly, to an insulated cylindrical holder for a liquid having a dispenser valve and a filler hole.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Liquid holding and dispensing apparatus have been marketable items for many years. The need for transporting fluids for the convenience of travelers is, of course, as old as the history of travel. Along with the improvements in transportation have come the improvements in the apparatus used to carry and dispense liquids. Moreover, as travelers have become more sophisticated with more sophisticated means of travel, the demand for more sophisticated liquid dispensing apparatus has continued. Originally, it was sufficient merely to be able to provide water for travelers. However, travelers then demanded cold water for summer travel, and then a hot drink, such as hot coffee, for winter or cold weather travel.
Vacuum type insulated bottles or carriers were developed to provide optimum temperature maintenance characteristics to match the characteristics of the liquids used in the bottles. Vacuum bottles have three primary limitations. One limitation is in expense of manufacturing, since the vacuum bottles must be blown, usually out of glass, and then an external protective covering must be disposed on the outside of the bottle, with appropriate spacers, gaskets, and the like. A second limitation is in the inherent structural problems of the bottle. The glass is breakable and accordingly must be protected as much as possible from shocks which may break the bottle. The third limitation is in weight. Since glass is a relatively heavy material, and a double walled vacuum bottle is doubly heavy, the weight of liquids then becomes an additional, but of course inherently necessary, weight.
When foam elastomeric substances, such as styrofoam, were developed, the styrofoam as an insulator became a ready replacement for vacuum bottles. A relatively thin and relatively inexpensive plastic liner is used to contain the liquid, and the liner is typically surrounded by an appropriate thickness of foam insulation. The foam insulation, and the plastic liner, both readily lend themselves to various types of casting processes and are thus relatively inexpensive to make. In addition, the foam is very light weight, as compared with glass, and while it dents relatively easily, it is not fragile like glass is. Typically, the foam insulation is disposed between the inner container which holds the liquid and an outer shell or covering which is normally of a more dense plastic than the foam and which protects the foam. In some cases, an external or outer shell may not be used.
Numerous patents have been granted for various types of insulated liquid holders and dispensers, with various modifications, either in the dispensing valves or in the design of the apparatus itself. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,723,070 discloses a vacuum bottle type insulator for holding liquids, with a spigot valve at its lower end and a mouth remote from the spigot.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,794,641 discloses what appears to be an improvement or modification of the '070 patent, with a more elaborate dispensing valve system. The '641 patent retains the vacuum bottle insulation system for the liquid.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,117,585 discloses a vacuum insulated apparatus for holding and dispensing hot or cold liquids which includes a glass tube disposed exteriorally of the vacuum container and connected with the dispensing cock or valve to indicate the amount of fluids remaining in the apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,326,434 discloses a thermal jug with a dispenser valve secured to the exterior periphery of the jug and actuable by moving the dispenser nozzle from a closed position against the jug to an open position outwardly from the jug. While the dispenser nozzles of the patents discussed above have been actuated by a horizontally rotatable valve or cock in a fixed position, the apparatus of the '434 patent includes a vertically disposed valve or cock arrangement which is integral with the dispenser nozzle. Movement of the nozzle accordingly activates the valve.
A foam type insulator with an interior container and an exterior protective covering is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,376,064. The spigot for the apparatus extends through the insulation and outwardly of the exterior covering. The inner container includes integral spacers which space the inner container from the outer covering to allow for a relatively uniform thickness in the foam insulation material disposed between the inner container and the outer covering.
A multiple chamber or compartment container is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,566. A plurality of containers, each with its separate spigot, is disposed within an insulated sheath to provide for the carrying of a plurality of different liquids, if desired. The exterior of the apparatus includes a protective covering spaced apart from the inner compartments and disposed on the outside of the insulation material.
While there are other embodiments of insulated types of apparatus, the above described patents typify the prior art.
Of the patents above described, the '434 patent, the '064 patent, and the '566 patent are adapted to be used in vehicles. However, each has its limitations. For example, with the '064 apparatus, as shown in FIG. 3, the jug must be raised manually above the floor or placed on a seat in order for a user to put a cup or other receptacle beneath the spigot. Unless the cap is loosened from the top of the jug, to allow air to enter into the jug as the liquid is dispensed from the jug, the liquid will come out in spurts. The pauses between spurts allow air to flow into the interior of the jug to replace the fluid. Similarly, the '434 jug must also be lifted off the floor of the vehicle if it is disposed on the floor and either held or placed on the seat in order to allow the fluid to flow out of the jug into a cup or other container. Also, the cap must be loosened to allow air to flow into the jug as the liquid flows out.
With the '566 jug apparatus, it also must either be lifted off the floor of the car and manually held or placed on a seat in order to allow the jug to be used. Typically in vehicles, such as automotive vehicles, the jugs are carried on the floor of the car as the most convenient place to keep them. The larger jugs have a separate spigot at the lower portion of the jug from which the fluid flows and accordingly the jug must be disposed above the receptacle or container to allow the fluid to flow from the jug. Movement of the vehicle sometimes renders use of such jugs somewhat hazardous in that the likelihood of spilling is great. This is doubly a problem when provisions are not made for the air to flow into the jug as liquid flows out of the jug. The spurting action of the fluid as it flows out of the jug is not in an even stream, but rather in a pulsating stream which varies in distance from the jug, depending on the specific design of the dispenser and the amount of fluid in the container. Regardless of the circumstances, the pulsating effect or spurting of the fluid makes it hazardous to use the jug without the high likelihood of spilling, when the vehicle is in motion.
In smaller models, insulated jugs do not usually have a spigot separate from the filler. It is accordingly necessary to remove the cap from the top of the container and tilt the container to pour liquid into a receptacle. Again, this is hazardous in a moving vehicle because the likelihood of spilling is great. Moreover, such an arrangement renders it virtually impossible for a driver or single occupant of the vehicle to use the jug apparatus while the vehicle is in motion. Even with a jug with a separate spigot, it is rather difficult for a single occupant of a vehicle to dispense a liquid from a jug without a likelihood either of spilling or of an accident due to loss of control of the vehicle.